Money Management Strategies for Futures Traders (Wiley Finance) [Hardcover]

Nauzer J. Balsara (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471522155 | ISBN-13: 978-0471522157 | Publication Date: March 16, 1992 | Edition: 1

Distills complex theories for the benefit of the average trader with little or no background in finance or mathematics by offering a wide range of valuable, practical strategies for limiting risk, avoiding catastrophic losses and managing the futures portfolio to maximize profits. Numerous topics are explored including: why most traders lose at the futures game most of the time; why most mechanical trading systems are apt to fail; the probabilistic approach to trading; how to make stop-loss orders work for, rather than against you; the pros and cons of options versus futures trading; and how to limit risk through diversification.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Distills complex theories for the benefit of the average trader with little or no background in finance or mathematics by offering a wide range of valuable, practical strategies for limiting risk, avoiding catastrophic losses and managing the futures portfolio to maximize profits. Numerous topics are explored including: why most traders lose at the futures game most of the time; why most mechanical trading systems are apt to fail; the probabilistic approach to trading; how to make stop-loss orders work for, rather than against you; the pros and cons of options versus futures trading; and how to limit risk through diversification.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 16, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471522155
• ISBN-13: 978-0471522157
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Money Management Classic, June 27, 2008

By 

Amazon Book Lover (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Money Management Strategies for Futures Traders (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

This book was released in 1992 -- and is still as essential today to traders as it was 16 years ago. It seems like it is a secret gem of a book since there are only 2 Amazon.com reviews posted (both of which are five and four stars) in all these years.

Maybe it's time for this classic to be re-discovered by a new generation of traders and investors. Surprising to me that the book "The Trading Game - Playing by the Numbers to Make Millions" sells so many books. The gimmick title "...Make Millions..." should make you wonder if it is authentic -- get Professor Balsara's book instead and learn the true principles of managing and understanding your risk.

There is a reason Balsara's book is cited by 34 other books (most of which are written by the master traders of our time) and it is because this is the textbook that the master traders refer to in creating their money management strategies. This book has the formulas and the theory you need to manage your risk and avoid the risk-of-ruin.

I found out about Balsara's book from Bennett McDowell, he recommends Balsara's book in his book "A Trader's Money Management System":

A Trader's Money Management System: How to Ensure Profit and Avoid the Risk of Ruin (Wiley Trading)

McDowell encourages his students to use Balsara's risk-of-ruin tables when designing their own personal money management system. It improves your bottom line when you calculate your current payoff ratio and win ratio and accurately determine the risk you should be taking on each trade by referring to the risk-of-ruin tables. Balsara also covers Optimal F in detail, which is another way to determine the amount to risk on any one trade based on your current payoff ratio and win ratio.

Of course, another great author on this topic is Ralph Vince and his latest book is probably the most thorough account of using Optimal F effectivly:

The Handbook of Portfolio Mathematics: Formulas for Optimal Allocation & Leverage (Wiley Trading)

For some traders they should risk 2% of their trading capital on each trade. For other more experienced traders they can benefit by risking 10%. The key is to do the calculations and know where you stand at any given moment.

Do yourself a favor, buy Balsara's book, Vince's book and/or McDowell's book instead of "The Trading Game".

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do not enter the futures game/war without this book!, November 29, 1999

By 

John E Moore (El Paso, Texas.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Money Management Strategies for Futures Traders (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

I only wish I had utilized the statistical tools the author provides earlier in my trading career. However, I did find the book in time. Don't let the reference to statistics scare you. The author uses basic alegebra to aid you in trade selection and risk control.

This book may not guarantee you success in trading, but I do believe that if one does not apply the basic money management principles presented by Prof. Balsara, sooner or later, failure in the futures market is almost certain.

If you can't name the 5 basic steps of money management, I suggest you stop trading immediately, get this book with a couple of ticks worth of money you'll not be losing while your not trading. Read it a few times, set up your money management spreadsheet and may you trade with clarity previously unknown in your endeavors in the futures market.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Complete Insight Into Money Management Strategies for FT, March 27, 2003

By 

Tradingmarkets.com (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Money Management Strategies for Futures Traders (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

While a large percentage of individuals do not achieve financial success in the futures markets, traders who do succeed possess a solid understanding of risk and exercise a disciplined program of loss containment and money management. Nazer J. Balsara's Money Management Strategies For Futures Traders provides a wealth of materials for futures and stocks traders alike. The book is a must-read and a relatively easy-read for those who wish to enhance their risk management sophistication with complex tools and who believe that the best way to survive and prosper in the markets it to contain your losses, play defensively and let profits ride.

All trading opportunities are not created equally and part of a trader's job is ferreting out the best markets to trade. The chapter on commodity selection presents four approaches to market selection, based largely on the work of J. Welles Wilder, the father of ADX (Average Directional Index Indicator) and RSI (Relative Strength Index). Here, the book is a good review of Wilder's ADX but focuses on the less-known aspect of his work: the commodity selection index. Wilder's approach uses ADX to identify futures yielding the greatest dollar-value price-moves for a given margin investment, in short, getting you in on the most appealing trades. Balsara also shows the utility of Wilder's price movement index when it is it is not possible to determine or estimate reward, thereby enhancing the analysis and return in mechanical trading systems. Sharpe ratios are also considered as a way of measuring risk-adjusted returns.

The text gives useful approaches to managing risk through stop-loss orders by laying out the usage of time stops, dollar-value stops and volatility stops. There is also a presentation on how to survive locked-limit markets by creating synthetic options positions, spreads or offsetting positions in the cash markets.

A studied read of this finance professor's work will help traders develop both the skill and the art of disciplined risk-taking.